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Paoletti Family
Anthony's Story
As the baby of a blended family, Anthony is at the center of Paoletti family; he and his dog Franklin. He has 4 older siblings, Tatum, Hannah, Michael and Edward, that are all 10+ years older than him. Just months before Anthony was born, the family adopted a French bulldog, Franklin. Anthony formed an immediate bond with Franklin and the pair brought the entire family together.
Anthony is known by his love for his family and friends. He is always asking his siblings to play games with him and wanting to learn all about his family tree. He loves family history and tradition; some of his favorite Paoletti traditions are seeing a movie at Harkins Theatre on Thanksgiving Day and playing board games together. Anthony is confident and loves to make people laugh. He banters with his brothers and loves telling jokes to his sisters. His entertaining personality puts everyone around him at ease, and he is confident wherever life takes him. The Paoletti’s have blended around Anthony’s humorous spirit and their family game nights.
Anthony was full of energy as a toddler. He loved cars and dinosaurs and was learning how to swim. He was goofy and active. He could fall asleep anywhere and in the strangest positions. He was always running around and bumping into things. But these symptoms grew and in September of 2020, when Anthony was 3.5 years old, he was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). In the middle of the Covid quarantine, Anthony’s diagnosis further forced the Paoletti’s into isolation. They had to be extra cautious to keep Anthony away from any viruses. Anthony missed going to the movies, holiday gatherings, and seeing his cousins. He couldn’t understand why he was only allowed to see his grandpa during his treatment. His siblings also struggled to understand Anthony’s susceptibility.
In the hospital, Anthony was known as “The Screamer”. The steroids he was given for treatment would make him angry and he would scream at nurses when they had to give him medication. Anthony’s parents said that one of the hardest things during treatment was having to “force” Anthony to take his medications. They found that being open and honest with Anthony gave him autonomy and strengthened his confidence. The nurses would explain to Anthony how the medications would help his body, and once he understood that he would let them give him his medications without screaming. He could decide for himself when he needed medication for the pain. Anthony’s treatment also made him hangry! Fortunately, Anthony would crave fruits and vegetables; his favorite was celery and tomatoes with red wine vinegar.
Anthony’s mom was so consumed with caring for Anthony during his treatment that she wasn’t aware of the resources to support her and her family through their journey. But she remembers receiving CCN’s blue admission bag and picking up backpacks during Back to School drive throughs to help her kids during Covid. Anthony’s favorite was getting CCN craft bags in the hospital. He would call them “experiments,” and wanted to become a scientist.
When Anthony finished his cancer treatment, the hospital he was receiving treatment from did not have a bell. So the Paoletti’s donated a bell to Banner Children’s Hospital at Thunderbird. The bell is now dedicated to Anthony and serves hope to provide hope to all families whose child has completed their treatment.
Today, Anthony favorite thing to do is still spending time with his family. Anthony continues to make them laugh and loves playing family games, as they celebrate and create traditions together. Anthony’s cancer journey has helped the Paoletti Family to form strong bonds that are meaningful to each member of the family.
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